Adjustable ring groove carbon removing tool



Nw. 14, 1944 C, A, STINE I 2,362,780

ADJUS'IIABLE RING GROOVE CARBON REMOVING TOOL Filad Dec. 28, 1942 a l a.. y I |901I E? if; *By

. UNITED 'Patented Nev. 14, 1944` l ADJUSTABLE lRING GRoovEoARBoNVU `REMovING 'rooL` y l l Y v Carl AQStine, VanNuys,` Califgassignor to lTurcov,` l,

Products, Inc., Los Angeles,A Calif., a corpora-AV tion of California Application Deeemter 28,1942, serial Nelvovss 2 claims. o1.15'104.t1`)

l This invention relates to devices for removing carbonaceous deposits from the ring grooves in pistons and the like.'l v l It is-` among the objects of my invention to provide -a device which embodies means for affording such adjustable resilient engagement of the cutter element with the deposited carbon asto obtain uniform action 'and prevent injury to the piston. It is `another-object to provide a device which t 'embodies'means for efficiently guiding the cutter vduringy its cutting movement about 'the ring 'groove v f l It is another objectltoV provide means for readily adjusting the device to pistons of various sizes I hereinabove particularly set forth are achieved will be best understood from the following detailed explanation of one of the adaptations of Which my invention is susceptible, for which purpose I shall refer to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view With some parts shown in section;

Fig. 2 isa side view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged end view of the cutter element;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged bottom plan view of one of the guide elements;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary plan View showing one of the frame flanges:

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary plan View showing the other of the frame flanges; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing a variational form of cutter.

Referring now to the drawing, I show at 5 a circular frame comprised of segments 5a, 5b hingedly connected together by hinge 1. Each of the segments 5a, 5b has an end flange 8, 9, flange 8 having an elongated hole 9a to pass and permit lateral movement of a connecting'bolt I0.

Flange 9 is slotted at 9a to receive the opposite end of bolt I9, onto which end there is threaded a wing nut Illa. Surrounding bolt Ill and bearing at its opposite ends against the respective v flanges 8, 9, I provide a cOil spring I2, which spring moves the flange elements apart to expand the` frame as the wing nutllla is unscrewed. This framesegments, together with the hinge l, facilitates rapplying the device over the ends of a piston P and enablesA the deviceV tooperateon pistons of various'sizes.

Circumferentially spaced and symmetricallyv arranged' around the inner surface of the frame '5, and secured thereto as by rivets I5, lI provide plates Itjvvh'ich` ridejov'er'the lands L of the piston, 'andea'ch'of theplates'has a projection Il which extends into a ringgroove G of the piston, although'projections ll arenot long enough to contact the bottom of the` groove since those members servemerely as guides and are not-intended as carbonr cutting 'or' lscraping elements. Asf-b'est'shown" in Fig. Ll,l projections Il are preferably of square cross-section.

To the outside of frame segment 5a, diametrically opposite the bolt I0, I secure, as by welding,

Va tubular handle 20, there being a squared opening 2l through the wall of segmenty 5a concentric with the bore of tube 20 to slidablyI pass a y cutter element 23. l

Cutter 23 has an inner end of squared crosssection which bevels to a cutting edge23a and a medial enlarged-portion 23h of squared crosssection which -slidably ts in opening 2l. inner,` rounded end 23o of the cutter slidably fits the bore of tube 2li. A retaining washer 24 is interposed between the rounded portion 23e of the cutter andy theouter surface of frame segment 5a.

A cap 30 is threadedly mounted over the outer end of tube 20 and through a central opening in the cap I thread an adjusting screw 32 having a flattened head portion 32a, and whose inner end has secured thereto a disctl. A coil spring 35 is disposed longitudinally in the tube and bears at one end against the inner end of the cutter element 23 and bears at its other end against disc 34. Thus the cutter is resiliently mounted -with its cutting edge 23ak operating against the i bottom of the piston groove G and it is possible to adjust this pressure of spring 35 by means of To apply the device over a piston, the lowerl vend of bolt I0 is swung outwardly from the slot Sla-the elongated hole 8a in ange 8 permitting such lateral movement of the boltand the ring segments 5a, 5b may be swung apart about hinge 'l to apply them around a piston-and to insert the cutting edge 23a of the cutter as well as the guide member Il into the piston groove,

means of connecting the adjacent ends4 of the 55 `after which the bolt I0 is swung back intothe slot 9a. and the nut Illa tightened. After thus mounting the device, rotation of the frame with respect to the piston causes the cutting element to cut the carbon from the ring groove or at least to cut into it sufficiently to permit it to be attacked and finally removed by any one of the well known carbon removing chemical baths. It is usually undesirable for the cutter to cut into the metal of the piston and therefore I nd it desirable to make the cutter of material not harder than the material of the piston.

In Fig. 7 I show a variationa1 form of cutter 40 which comprises two cutting members 40a, 40h of different sizes disposed on opposite sides of a central rounded body portion 4I. Here, While one of the cutting members is in use, the opposite cuttingelement is disposed within the bore of the tube 20. If it is desired to substitute the cutting member disposed within the tube for the other cutting member, it is necessary only to reverse them end for end by removing the cap 30 and spring 35, sliding the cutter element outwardly of the tube, reversing it and then reinserting it into the tube and re-applying the cap.

Within its broader scope as defined by the appended claims, the invention is susceptible of being carried out in other specific forms of device and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the specic details hereinabove described except to the extent that some of the claims may recite those specific details.

l". claim:

1. In a device for removing carbon from a ring groove in a piston, a circular frame formed to encircle the piston in position over the groove, plates carried by the frame in position to frictionally engage the lands of the piston, groovefollowing guides carried by the plates in position to project into the groove, a cutter element carried by the frame in position to project into the groove, said frame being comprised of a pair of semi-circular segments hingedly connected together at one end, compression spring means interposed between the other ends of the segments to normally urge them apart and adjusting means for moving the last-named ends of the segments towards each other against the compression of the spring whereby to adjust the frictional engagement of the plates with the lands of the piston.

2. A device for removing carbon from a ring groove in a piston comprising a frame formed to encircle the piston, said frame consisting of two curved segments hingedlyconnected together at one end, an adjusting bolt extending between the other ends of the segments, a coil spring disposed around the bolt and resiliently spacing the last-named ends of the segments apart, radially inwardly disposed guide projections carried by the frame for guiding movement along the groove, each of the guide projections having a portion slidably engageable against the outer surface of the lands of the piston, and a cutter element resiliently carried by the frame and projecting radially inwardly therefrom to cuttingly engage carbon deposited in the groove CARL A. STINE. 

